Looking to find some sources for your Welsh ancestors? Three key sources were suggested by Sunny Morton in a FamilySearch blog last week. Also, in its Countries section, The Family History Guide gives a wealth of information on finding Welsh sources.
In the blog, “Discover Your Welsh Ancestry in These 3 Key Sources,” Sunny suggests starting your Welsh family research with what she calls the three C’s: censuses, civil registrations, and church records. Censuses of genealogical help began in 1841 and were taken every 10 years thereafter. The 1921 census will be released in 2021. Civil registrations (births, marriages, and deaths) began in Wales in July 1837. Sunny explains the two-step process to obtain these certificates. Church records, some beginning in 1538, consist of baptism, marriage, and burial records. However, these three record types are just the beginning.
In ‘The Family History Guide,” you can learn about these and other Wales research resources. This site does not contain genealogical records but provides links which take you directly to a given record collection or other links on the sites of FamilySearch, Ancestry, MyHeritage, or Findmypast. Information on Wales research resources is provided for a number of records and sources:
- Archives and Libraries
- Census Records
- Cemetery Records
- Emigration and Immigration
- Land, Property, Probate
- Military Records
- Maps and Gazetteers
- Newspapers
- Websites
- Search Records
Where ever you begin, enjoy your journey in finding out about your Welsh ancestors and their lives and stories! –Debbie Brady